Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to RFID tags and, more specifically but not exclusively, to using RFID tags to identify and track samples, such as biological samples stored in freezers.
Description of the Related Art
This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the invention. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.
Biological samples are often stored in vials that are marked with and/or have labels containing bar codes and/or printed or handwritten text and/or numbers that identify the particular biological sample contained within the vial. In order to preserve the biological material, such vials are often stored in freezers containing many hundreds or even thousands of different vials. Over time, labels tend to fade and peal off from the vials, making identification of the stored samples difficult or even impossible. Even when the labels remain intact and legible, when the vials are removed from the freezer, reading the labels is often hampered by ice and frost.
Technology is being developed to use RFID (radio frequency identification) tags to identify and track biological samples stored in freezers, where each vial has its own RFID tag having a unique RFID number associated with it. Here we define RFID tag to include the RFID chip, the antenna, and a substrate used to hold everything in place. The '748 and '729 applications describe some of this technology.